The Edinburgh International Film Festival kicked off today with a Scottish Film Summit supported by Creative Scotland. Aiming to bring all sectors of the industry together, it gave attendees the chance to raise issues directly with funding bodies and with Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop, who delivered the opening address.
Speaking just a week after Scotland won USA Today's coveted Best Cinematic Location award, Hyslop stressed the importance of promoting the country as a shooting location to attract international productions and funding, but also focused on the need to support the local industry. "Success here would further strengthen the package of support Scotland is able to offer so that the Scottish screen sector - our locations, our crews and our talent - can flourish. We are determined to do all we can to make that happen," she said.
The biggest recent boost to Scotland's industry has come not from a cinematic production but from the massive global success of TV series Outlander. The summit also explored issues of sustainability and looked at how companies and freelancers can get by between large scale projects.
